Senior receiver Davonte Allen, a BCS prospect with lightning speed, made multiple acrobatic catches in the opening 24 minutes. He had four catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns.

His two touchdown catches were fit for SportsCenter. Rowley threw a 37-yard strike down the middle of the field, leading an outstretched, diving Allen into the end zone.

In the second quarter, Rowley lofted a pass 40 yards down the right side. Allen looked like a sprinter making one final charge as he blazed past a Cardinal Gibbons defensive back, caught the ball and trotted in for a touchdown.

While the offense was rolling early and often, the defense was suffocating.

Cardinal Gibbons, a team that averaged 223.5 yards of offense a game, had minus-16 yards at halftime and only six plays for positive yards. By game's end, Gibbons mustered 114 total yards of offense, 55 of which came on a touchdown pass to receiver Tim Burton.

Gibbons running back Denzel Wimberly, who has committed to play at Central Michigan next year, took seven carries for minus-3 yards. As a team, Gibbons ran for 18 yards.

Glades Central seemingly had multiple defenders in the backfield on every play, forcing Gibbons to pass, something it doesn't normally do.

And Crevon LeBlanc's one-handed, over-the-shoulder interception was just one of several big-time defensive plays that Glades Central made.

"All this week we were practicing against the run," LeBlanc said. "If we shut that running game down, they'd have to throw on us. And that's what happened."

Glades Central knew its defense would show up. What the Raiders needed was Rowley to stay calm. The Raiders will live and die with Rowley's arm this season.